Best Flea Combs for Cats and How to Use Them

If your cat is itching or scratching continuously, it is time to take a better look into the matter as it could be fleas. If fleas are not found and treated accordingly they can cause many more problems than just an irritating itch.

By using a good quality flea comb you can help identify if your cat does indeed have fleas and then treat them with either a flea shampoo, drops or a pill or powder.

What should you do if your cat has fleas?

As most of us already know, fleas can jump and they can jump well. It is important to have a plan before you start combing your cat.

First up you will want to get a towel or old blanket that you can comb your cat on so any eggs or fleas can fall on this when combing. This will need to be washed immediately after you have finished combing even if you have not found any fleas. Always wash this on a hot wash to kill any fleas, eggs or flea larvae – even if you can not see any.

Another good idea (if you can) is to fill a bucket with hot soapy water before starting to comb your furry friend on the hunt for fleas. The fleas can be dumped into the water to kill them or at least prevent them from jumping back onto your cat.

Just using a flea comb is not enough to get rid of the problems totally in most cases.

As I mentioned you should use flea combs in conjunction with other flea removal products for better results. You can check out some of the flea shampoos that my cats recommend here.

To get rid of fleas totally takes time and patience. It is literally you versus them.

Several weeks of continuous, daily combing, combined with a good flea product, cleaning of the house, vacuuming the floors, washing all areas where the cat uses (your bedding, their bedding) will eventually get rid of the infestation.

It is literally a war you are waging.

We will win soldier!

Identifying fleas early makes your life easier

By using a flea comb and with regular brushing (as well as using cat grooming brush), you can and will get to know when there is a problem with fleas. The earlier you find them the easier it is to get rid of them.

Even if your cat is indoors 100% of the time, they can get fleas. Fleas jump 100 times their own height so it is very easy for them to jump on you or your dog when you are outside and bring the fleas in the house.

How do you use a flea comb on a cat?

Slowly and gently. These are the 2 best bits of advice I can give you.

Some cats do enjoy being combed, Sanchez as an example loves it. Bruce, on the other hand, does not and I have the scars to show for it.

Always keep some treats to hand for your feline (see some of the best cat treats). Talk to them softly to reassure them. I have found it really helps if you can get someone else involved to distract and hold your cat.

When using the flea comb, comb at right angles

If you comb downwards, the fleas may fall off the comb onto the ground and escape or jump back onto your cat, or other pets (or indeed you – this is not good!). Start combing from the ears and head and move towards the tail. Slowly cover all areas, including the underbelly and the top of the pet’s neck and the area around the rump.

Fleas can hide in any area and especially when they get an idea that a raid is being carried out, they will scoot for a hiding place.

Though combing is the first step people take to rid the animal of the pests, the flea will not leave completely and we must remember that the cat doesn’t know what’s happening. It will not stick to the plan and chances are they will move about.

You will have to get the animal to sit patiently which is itself an exercise for you. Chances are there will be claws. I suggest you wear long sleeves and thin gloves. Seriously!

After each stroke of the comb, check it for fleas and if you find some, pull the insect off and place it into the water.

Dunking the flea comb into the water is less effective. Use your hands to pull them off the comb and put them in the water.

If you have a very understanding and patient cat (lucky you!) wait for some time for the fleas to move around after the first round of combing. Start combing again. Chances are the ones that had fled to some of the safe hard to reach areas of your cat will have ventured back into the more accessible areas.

Sneaky!

Always take the following into account when combing your cat for fleas

Some cats may freak out when combed. If you find yourself in such a situation, look for an alternative to combing.

When brushing, be sensitive, there could be areas that may cause pain when brushed. If you simply brush through, the cat may run away the next time they see you pull out the brush. If you cat is infested and you need to do this often, avoid hurting the cat.

If the cat has suffered flea bites, avoid brushing since the animal may have inflammation. Use a soothing cream or just use an oral treatment. You vet can advise you on that.

If the fur of your cat is very short, use a wide toothed comb first to untangle any knots.

The good thing about flea combs in general, apart from the fact they are great for detecting and getting rid of fleas, is that they do create a bond between you and your feline (if they like combing like Sanchez), and also even the really good ones are pretty cheap.

The best flea combs for cats

Okay, so let’s take a look at some of the best flea combs for cats you can buy.

1. Safari Flea Comb

This flea comb is perfectly suited for cats, kittens and small animals in general. In fact, the Safari flea comb for cats does come highly recommended by professional groomers. It is a great comb to remove fleas and keep an eye on the condition of your furry friend’s coat.

4. Pet Republique Dog & Cat Flea Comb

I love the Pet Republique range, not because it gets rid of fleas (which it really does) but it is super easy to use, the comb is super comfortable to hold and as the title suggests can be used on both dogs and cats.

The teeth on this comb are super flexible and get rid of all the itchy nasties that can infest your animal.

I use this on both my cats and my dog Max, I have actually noticed that this particular comb gets rid of his flaky skin as well (he suffers from allergies and dry skin so does get doggy dandruff!).

The thing I love most about this brand, is the fact that they give 15% of their profits to the American Animal Rescue foundation as well. By buying from Pet Republique you are helping to save other animals!

8 comments

Sure. We meant to say that you should comb at the correct angle for this to be as effective as possible. By correct angle, we mean that you should start combing from the ears and head and move towards the tail. After each stroke, dump the comb in the water to drawn the fleas. Hope this helps 🙂

I’ve had cat’s for 40+ years. Whoa. Where did the time go.. I digress. I have tried many different combs over the years. It seems no mater how clean your house is these little guys always pop up. Depending on hair length your angle changes but it does come down to trial and error. For short hair 45d seems to work best going about 1 or 2 inches at a time while overlapping about 1/2 inch. Use your thumb to hold any hair or fleas as you move back up but I think it’s best to dunk your comb in a bowl of dawn and water that is deep enough to submerge the whole comb. I use a towel to quickly swipe the comb on both sides before combing again. For longer hair I go 2 or three lengths and do the same but use a nail brush in the water to quickly get the hair off the flea comb and make sure they say under water. I’m not a fan of the dual row combs. While they do work they are harder to get the fleas out of the center channel. At least for me I ended up spending more time cleaning the brush out than the regular single combs. Using the combs during a bath I tend to brush in longer strokes at first then shorter ones. A ring of Dawn around the neck helps stop the fleas from turning your pets head into an island of safety. Dawn really helps but it can really dry out their skin. It kills them pretty quick bypassing their wax layer and allowing water to enter the respiratory system or simple form a bubble over it. I’ve tested the time it takes. Slightly off topic as this is for baths but after submerging my cats body in slightly soapy water I comb them and randomly placed the fleas in zip lock bags. Each bag from a different part of the body correlating to how long the fleas where under water. Blow a little air into the bag and close it. I wanted to see which fleas came back to life. With just water no Dawn fleas up to 30 mins under water started moving around after a few hours. With Dawn fleas in water 5 mins never made it. I even put them on paper towels to help pull the water away from them but still none of them came back to life.

Thank you for such a detailed explanation of your process to get rid of annoying fleas. It’s always great to hear new tricks for removing the pest. That’s really interesting that Dawn kills fleas so quickly while water doesn’t. Dawn comes really handy for killing fleas but as you said, it can dry out their skin, so it is best to only use it in an emergency such as when your cat is covered in fleas.